Fuel feeding device



May 24, 1932. s. c. GULICK FUEL FEEDING DEVICE Filed June 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwntoz, 6EELEV QGUL/GK QFRTQQQQK dtbcmq May 24, 1932. "s, 3 UU K FUEL FEEDING DEviCE F'ile'd June 5, 1929 Sheets-sheet 2 .i mkw Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES SEELEY C. GULIGK, CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS FUEL FEEDING DEVICE-g Application filed June 1929. Serial No. 368,696, i t;

This invention relates to fuel feeding devices, and more particularly to a device for supplying fuel from the tank of a motor H hicle to the carbureter of the engine. 7 q'. The present types of vacuum tanks for supplying fuel to motor vehicle carbureters are open to several objections. For one thing, the parts of the device are relatively light and are readily subject to derangement so as M to interfere with their operation. F urthe'rmore, vacuum tanks are provided with snapover valves one of which is adapted to connect the suction chamber of the tank to the intake manifold when the vacuum tank is refilled, thus supplying uncarbureted 'air to the intake manifold-which, under ordinary conditions, does not materially affect the operation of the engine, but does cause a loss 7 of power to a noticeable extent when the 5 engine is picking up speed afterthe vehicle has been startedfrom astandstil'l.

A number of motor vehicles are now equipped: with positive pumps for tran'sfer 7 ring fuel from a motor vehicle tankto the carbureter thereof,,but such devices also have been found to possess disadvantages. For example,a pump of this character must operate to supply fuel at a suflicient rate to satisfy the maximum demands of the engine, and un der a majority of conditions, the motor pumps fuel in excess of the actual rate of consumption by the engine, and this excess flow must be compensated for in some manner.

Many of the power driven pumps now" in use for the purpose stated are provided with a pump plunger or similar pumping element and actuating-means usually in the natureof a cam drive, and the drive means and the pump element are usually mechanically con"- nected to each other through the medium of a compression spring which possesses sufficient tension to transmit power to the pumping elements, but which is adapted to be; compressed upon the building up of a back pressure againstthe pumping element so as to prevent the transmission of power to the pumping element when there is an accumulation ofexcess fuel beingpumped. As is well known, it is difiicult to provide springs of this character which are more or less constantly compressed and expanded owing to the fact that the metal ofthe springs crystallizes, thus causing the springs, to break, In a copending application Serial No 292,310, filed July 12th, 1928, I have disclosed a fuel supply system for oil burners having novel means .for taking care of the fuel pumped in excess of the demands of the burner; The present invention embodies the same broad principle, but is particularly adapted for use in connection withmotor vehicles.

An important object of the present inven tion s to provide a simple and substantial mechanism for thejpurpose stated, wherein there is a complete absence of delicate moving parts whereby the device is adapted to operate over long periods of time without derangement or breakage ofparts.v i

A further object is to provide. novel means for compensating for the excess fuel pumped without the use of springs or other take-up means.

A further object is to provide a device of a the characterreferred to wherein the operating parts for transmitting the pumping power are of such character as to renderlubrication thereof unnecessary over long periods 7 of time, 'novel means beingprovided for retaining a body of lubricant in intimate con} 3 tactfwith such working, parts. L I

VA further object is to provide a pumping device having an auxiliary fuel tank associ ated therewith from which the fuel is adapt ed to flow to the carbureter by gravity'and to provide means for returning excessfuel from the auxiliary tank to the intake side of the pump to prevent the latter from drawing additional fuel from the1main tank except as the requirements of the carbureter demand Other objects and advantages of the invention will become-apparentduring the course V of the following description.

In the drawings I have shown-'oneembodimentofthe invention In this showing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, parts being shownin section, f" I f i Y Figure 2 is=a plan view,

V f'erning; thefiow of fuel through an opening view,

2 Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of the pumping element and associated parts,

Figure .4 is a central vertical sectional Figure 5 is a section on line 55 of Figure '1, parts being shown in elevation, V

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view of the three-way valvelneans for taking care of excess fuel, parts being shown in elevation, and, 10

vided in its bottom with'a'clean-out'plug'11.'

The upper end of the tank 10 is provided with an annular flange 12 adapted. to be attached j by screws or other fasteningelements 13 to a support 14, a gasket 15' preferably being arranged between the flange 12 and the'support14.

' The tank 10 is provided with a hollow lateral extension 16, which may be formed integral therewith or brazed thereto, and the extension 16 is provided'with an integral vertical tubular member 17, closed at its lower end by a plug 18. The tubular member 17 is provided in its upper portion with a valve seat 19, for a purpose to be described. 1

- A float 20 is arranged in the tank 10 and is carried by a lever 21 pivotally connected intermediate its ends as at 22 to the extension 7 16. Thelouter end of the leveris provided with'avalve 23 adapted to engagethe seat 19 when thefioat 20" moves downwardly to a predetermined position.

V The upper end of thetubular member 17 is connected to one branch 24 of a three-way connection 25.-

second branch of the con-f nection 25 communicates, with a pipe 26, while 7 the third branch of the connection communicateswith another pipe'27. The lower end of the pipe 26 is connected to a valve casing 28 in whichis arranged a ball valve 29 gov- 1 30, and this opening communicates with 'a pipe 31 which leads to the main fuel tank of I the vehicle.

. Referring to Figures 1 and 4,'the numeral. 32 designates a plurality of upstanding posts securedat their lower ends to the support 14 by screws or other fastening elements .A

v plate34 is secured to the upper endsof the posts 32 by screws-or other fastening elej ments 35, and the lower face of'the plate34 is recessed as at 36 to form a pumping cham-i ber. s

L A diaphragm :37: is mounted against the lower face of the plate 34 and issecured thereto by a clamping-ring 38 having screws or other fastcning'elements 39 passing there-i through and threadedin the plate 34. "The V diaphragm is provided witha central depend ing stem 40, bifurcatedat its lower; end "as t .tion as shown in Figure 5, and is provided at41, and secured to the diaphragm by a screw 42. I

A power transmission casing .41 is mount ed on the upper faceof the support 14 and is secured thereto by screws or the like 43' as shown in Figure 4. One wall of the casing 42 is preferably provided with a detachable cover plate 42 which is removable to permit access to the interior of the casing. The casv '75 ing 42 is preferably rectangular in 'cross secin opposite side walls with threaded openings 43" receiving threaded bearings 44 having eccentric bearing openings 45 in their inner ends. The bearings are adapted to be secured in adjusted positions bymeansof jam nuts 45. I v

A shaft 46 is arrangedin the casing 42 and, has'its ends mounted in the bearings 44; The shaft 46 is provided adj acent one end with an eccentric 47 operable in 'abearing 48. carried by an upwardlyextendingstem 49. This stem is'secured by suitableifastening elements 49 to-an elongated'shank-50, as clearly shown in Figure 3. "A screw. 51 extends through a slot 52 formed in the upperend of the shank 50, and is threaded into a connecting member 53. The. upperend ofthe connecting member is mounted between thebifurcated ends of the stem 40" and is pivotallyconnected thereto as at 54. v i

' A light motor 55is mountedon the support 14 by suitable, bolts 56 and has its armature shaft 57 projectingthrough an opening 58 formed in one of the side walls of the casing 42. The end of the armatureshaft. is prof vided vwith'a worm 59'meshing with a. worm wheel 60 rigidly securedto the shafti46. E

As shown in Figure 6, the' plate 34 is provided with apassage 61 communicating with the pump chamber '36 valve body 62 is threaded on the plate 34 and is provided with 5 V a passage 63 communicating with the passage 61. "A ball valve 64 is mounted in the passage 63 and'is adapted to seat against the upper end of a reduced passage 65. The valve body 62 is connected at its lower end to I the pipe 27 to receive fuel therefrom in a manner to be described. I r r ,Another valve body 66 isthreaded in the top of the plate 34 and 'is'provided in its lower end with/a "reduced passage .67 come municating with the passage '61. Aball valve 65 is adapted to control communication through the passage :67. The valve body 66 is connected abovethe ball valve 65 to. an

outlet pipe 69.

and thence downwardly, as; shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the'lower end of the pipeis con- The pipe 69 extends 134; V

nected to an elbow 70.which communicates.

'with 'thetank' 10 to supply fuel thereto;

From the tank 10,:fucl is adapted to'flowv by,

gravityto the, carbureter, through an outlet pipe 71, and thispipe .is preferably provided with a manually operable valve 72. The tank 10 is vented through an opening 73 formed in the support 14, and a vent pipe 74 is preferthe vehicle. The motor 55 is preferably connected to the ignition switch of the engine so as to operate only when the engine is running. Rotation of the motor obviously drives the worm 59 which, in turn, drives the worm wheel so as to rotate the shaft 46 and cam 49. The cam, rotating in the bearing 48, transmits reciprocating movement to the shank 50 and the parts connected thereto, and this movement, in turn, is transmitted to the diaphragm 37 to effect the desired pumping action. Referring to Figure 6, it will be noted that downward movement of the diaphragm creates a partial vacuum in the chamber 36, which seats the valve and unseats the valve 64, and thus fuel will be drawn into the chamber 36 from the pipe 27. Upon upward movement of the diaphragm 37 a pressure will be created in the chamber 36, thus seating thevalve 64 and unseating the valve 65 to discharge fuel through the pipe 69.

The fuel thus pumped is discharged by the pipe 69 into the tank 10, through the elbow 70, and fuel will flow by gravity to the carbureter through the pipe 71, the tank 10 being vented through the pipe 74. As stated, pumping means must be provided which will take care of the maximum demands of the engine, and under most conditions, the amount of fuel pumped to the tank 10 will exceed the amount flowing from the tank to the carbureter. Novel means is provided for taking care of the excess fuel thus pumped without tlip provision of spring take-up means or the li e.

Referring to Figure 4, it will be noted that when the device is first placed in operation, the level of the fuel in the tank will be such that the float 20 will move downwardly, thus closing the valve 23 and shutting off communication between the tank and the three-way connection 25. As the height of the fuel rises, the float will rise correspondingly until the valve 23 becomes partially unseated, at which time, fuel can flow from the tank 10 to the three-way connection 25, and thence into the pipe 27.

Under the conditions stated, it will be apparent that the pump will draw part of its supply from the main tank and part from the tank 10, the proportionate amounts supplied from the two sources to the three-way connection 25 depending upon the height of the fuel in the tank 10, and the consequent degree to which the valve2 3 isopened. When the rate at which the fuel is pumped greatly I exceeds the rate-ofconsumption, the valve 23 obviously will open to a greater extent where-- byathe greater ratio of fuel drawn into the pump chamber 36 will be provided fromrthe tank 10 and it will be apparent that under all circumstances, the amount of fuel: drawn from the main supply tank will correspond exactly to the amount of fuel'being consumed by the engine. 3 I

It has been found that a very light drive motor may be provided since the consumption of fuel by an engine takes place slowly, thus permitting theuse of reduction gearlng with the pump drive means. In actual practice, it has been found that a motor; may be employed which does not consume any more cur.- rent than the usual tail or dash light of;t he vehicle. 1

The casing 42 serves as a reservoir-for lubricant, which is maintained below the level of the opening 58. The-jam nuts 55 serve to prevent leakage of oil-through the openings 43, and accordingly it is unnecessary to lubricate the drive means, except at rare intervals.

it to the worm 59 to lubricate'the latter.

The bearings ;44 are provided to permit taking up wear between the worm wheel 60 and. the driving worm 59. It will be apparent that by loosening the jam nuts 45,

The worm wheel 60 moves I through the body' of thelubricant' and carries slightly elevated. Thus it willbe apparent j that excess play between-the wormand worm wheel may be taken, up whenever desired.

The vertical adjustment of the shaft 46 maybe compensated for in the driving connections, to the diaphragm by loosening the screw 51- when the bearings 44 are adjusted, and then by tighteningthe screw,5l after the desired adjustment has been obtained. 1

1 From the foregoing it 'will be apparent that the present device provides novel means for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine wherein the rate of withdrawal of fuel from the main tank exactly corresponds to the rate of consumption of fuel by the engine, and it is unnecessary to provide any spring take-up means between the source of power and the pumping element, as would be necessary if the pumping of excess fuel to the carbureter should create back pressure on the diaphragm 37. The device isc-haracterized by an absence of fragile parts, and is adapted to operate over long periods of time without any attention whatever either as to lubrication or adjustments.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and'described is to v be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangementof parts 'may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the 6 connected tosaid invention or thescope of the subj oined claims.

I claim 1. A fuelfeeding device comprising a tank V vented to the atmosphere, a discharge pipe connected to said tank. near the bottom thereof, a pump including a pump chamber and a m,- inlet' and outlet pipes flexible diaphra pump chamber, said pipes beingconnected respectively to a source of fuel supply and to said tank, a transmission i casing, a worm Wheel mounted in said casing,

driving connections between said worm wheel and'said'diaphragm, said transmission casing being provided with an opening spaced from the bottom thereof, a shaft rotatable insaid openingand provided in said casing with'a worm meshing with said worm Wheel,

a shaft carrying said wormwheel, bearing 'means rotatably supporting said last named shaft and operative to vary the distance thereof from 'said worm wheel, said casing being adaptedito contain a lubricant in the bottomthereof and means for driving said first I [named shaft.

. 2. A v fuel feeding device comprising a horizontal support having-a vent opening therethrongh, an open topped tank having a horizontal flange at its upper end secured against the lower faceof said support, a dis charge pipe connected to said tank near the bottom thereof, a pump carried bysaid support and spaced thereabove, inlet and outlet pipes connected to said pump, said pipes being connected respectively to a source of fuel 7 supplyand to said tank, a transmission casing mounted-between said pump and said support and'carried by the latter, transmission gearing arranged in said casing near the bottom thereof and operatively connected to said pump, said casing being adapted to contain lubricant in the bottom thereof, and

means arranged externally of said casing for driving said gearing. V I

In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature.

SEELEY c. GULICK. 

